[Nhcoll-l] Skeleton preservation

[Fabian Neisskenwirth]

Dear Sergio, dear Beth,

the Museum in Berlin, as well as in Bern, were the first prototype was 
tested, are using a machine that is using methylene chloride (DCM) 
applied as vapor in a vacuum chamber.

There is a previous publication (only in German) that goes very deep in 
the matter of bone preparation and de-greasing:

*Peter Niederklopfer and Martin Troxler, Knochenpräparation – Handbuch 
für Praktiker **(Rothenbrunnen: Romei AG), 2001*

This technology is very successful in de-greasing bones extremely 
effectively, but there is still no publication on the method. If you are 
interested in the mater, get in touch with Martin Troxler 
(Chief-Preparator of the natural history museum in Bern) directly. 
Please write to him if possible in German. The manufacturer behind the 
technology is the HEMO GmbH: k.trautz at hemo-gmbh.de

*
*

All the best,

Am 14.11.24 um 12:16 schrieb Bethany Palumbo:
> Hi Sergio,
>
> I understand your plight, smelly bones are something we all have to 
> deal with at some point in this field!
>
> Personally I don't recommend soaking skeletal material in ammonia as 
> ammonia will break down the collagen, potentially resulting in 
> brittleness and delamination. I have seen this first hand. I have had 
> success using a weak ammonia solution (4-10%) in water, scrubbed onto 
> the oily surface with a tooth brush. This creates a soap scum that can 
> be wiped off with paper towels. Other safe solvents that might offer 
> some odor relief include ethanol or acetone wiped over the surface. 
> Also investigate hot vapour degreasing which is used in some museums 
> to remove old and fresh fatty secretions from bones. Correct me if I 
> am wrong, but I think Berlin have one they use for big mammals.
>
> All the best,
>
> Bethany Palumbo,
> Head of Conservation Unit,
> Museum of Natural History Denmark
>
>
>
> On Fri, 8 Nov 2024 at 13:07, Sergio Montagud 
> <sergio.montagud at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>     Good morning,
>
>     This is a query for those working in skeleton preservation. We
>     have some recently acquired, disarticulated specimens prepared by
>     different taxidermists. The issue is that some of them, especially
>     the larger ones, still emit a very unpleasant odor that we haven’t
>     been able to remove, even by soaking them in water with ammonia.
>     Is there an effective and proven method for eliminating this bad
>     smell from the bones, which I assume is caused by residual fat
>     still trapped in them?
>
>     Thank you very much.
>
>     Sergio Montagud
>
>     --
>
>     ********************************
>
>     Sergio Montagud Alario
>
>     Museu [UV] Història Natural
>
>     Universitat de València
>
>     e-mail: sergio.montagud at uv.es <mailto:sergio.montagud at uv.es>
>
>     ********************************
>
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> NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of
> Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose
> mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of
> natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to
> society. Seehttp://www.spnhc.org for membership information.
> Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate.
-- 
*Fabian Neisskenwirth*
Restaurator/Präparator

Waterfohrstr. 20
DE-45139 Essen

Tel: +49 (0) 1573 2778729

www.naturhistorische-konservierung.de
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